Dr Jan Stockdale

I have been awarded an MBE in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to higher education. Read more

I studied Psychology (BSc and PhD) at University College London before joining LSE as a social psychologist. Although now part time in the Psychology@LSE Department, I am also a member of both the Mannheim Centre for the Study of Criminology and Criminal Justice and LSE London Centre for Urban and Metropolitan Research. I have been a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. I have also combined my career as a social psychologist with a number of School-wide roles. These include Adviser to Women Students, Associate Director LSE Gender Institute, Dean of Recruitment, Dean of Admissions and Chair of the School Board of Examiners. In my current role as Dean of Undergraduate Studies, I oversee the well-being of the 4,000 undergraduate students in the School.

I have always been interested in studying issues which are of theoretical interest and practical importance. My early research focused on a range of 'real life' issues such as crowding – what makes people feel crowded and the impact of subjective crowding – sexual harassment and workplace violence, and the nature and role of leisure in people's lives. I then became interested in how people respond to representations of disability and drugs and campaigns encouraging safer sex behaviour. For the last twenty years, I have been actively involved in research relating to policing, crime reduction and community safety. As well as evaluating police training programmes, I have carried out a number of research projects for the Home Office, other government departments and the Metropolitan Police Service. These include process and impact evaluations of targeted policing initiatives directed at drug-related crime and vehicle crime; assessments of anti-burglary strategies and action against street robbery; the application of economic evaluation to policing activity; a quality control audit of police interviews; an assessment of the presentation of police evidence in court; and analyses of the role and impact of neighbourhood and street wardens both in the UK and elsewhere.

I have also been involved in research into young people's involvement in gangs, the role and sentencing of women in drug trafficking, children's representations of the world of drugs, and mechanisms of multi-agency working and data-sharing. More recently, I have completed an evaluations targeted action against gun crime in London, contributed to a review of the costs of anti-social behaviour and an analysis of young people's involvement in street crime. I have also advised on international comparisons of policing and crime reduction and a study of the illegal use of firearms. Over the past few years, I have presented research papers on guns and gangs at international conferences in Canada, the UK and mainland Europe and have been a regular contributor to the Chevening Fellows Course at the National Police Improvement Agency at Bramshill. I have recently contributed to research examining the reactions of British Muslims and non-Muslims to the threat of global terrorism, the public's responses to asylum seekers and perceptions of anti-social behaviour.

As my biography indicates, a recurrent theme in my research has been the analysis of contemporary social problems and policy issues. My current interests include: policing and community safety; crime, anti-social behaviour and social exclusion; violence and harassment; gender issues; health-related behaviour, including drug/alcohol use; and evaluation. My present work continues to be focused on policies and practices aimed at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and increasing people's security and quality of life.

Purkhardt, S.C. & Stockdale, J.E. Multidimensional Scaling as a Technique for the Exploration of a Social Representation. In G.M. Breakwell and D. Canter (Eds) Empirical Approaches to Social Representations. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.

Stockdale, J.E, & Seaborne, A.E.M. Elements of Social and Applied Psychology. University of London, 1996.

I very much enjoy good food and wine – I am Chair of LSE's Wine Advisory Group – and socialising with friends. I love the theatre, ballet and opera and am an avid reader – especially biography and modern fiction. I am also a keen gardener – a patio garden requires both imagination and constant watering – and find visiting other people's gardens provides both enjoyment and ideas. I derive considerable pleasure from walking, swimming and spending time by the sea in my home city of Portsmouth.

Share:|||

Dr Jan Stockdale

"I have recently contributed to research examining the reactions of British Muslims and non-Muslims to the threat of global terrorism, the public's responses to asylum seekers and perceptions of anti-social behaviour".

Use of this website is subject to, and implies acceptance of, its Terms of use (including Copyright and intellectual property, Privacy and data protection and Accessibility). The London School of Economics and Political Science is a School of the University of London. It is a charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Acts (Reg no. 70527).The registered office address of the School is: The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK; Tel: +44 (0)20 7405 7686